Sebastian River holds off John Carroll in bowl game

FORT PIERCE — Sebastian River junior running back Javian Tomlinson rushed for two touchdowns, including the game-winner midway through the fourth quarter and the Sharks held on for 26-24 win over John Carroll Catholic in a bowl game Wednesday night.

Tomlinson opened the scored with a 90-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and added a 3-yard score with 5:20 remaining in the game.

John Carroll (6-5) got the ball back with less than a minute remaining, but quarterback Jay Allen’s desperation heave as time expired was knocked down.

Allen completed touchdown passes to three different receivers. It was the fifth consecutive game that the sophomore accounted for at least three touchdown passes.  

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Sebastian River quarterback Shea Spencer threw one touchdown pass and rushed for another as the Sharks finished the season 6-5.

Quick thoughts from Wednesday’s game …

• Playing a bowl game was a brilliant move by both teams. Not only does it give seniors a final hurrah, but it also gives underclassmen valuable practice time. We haven’t seen a lot of bowl games on the Treasure Coast in recent years, but this is something more coaches should consider.
• Tomlinson, who has an offer from FAU and is drawing interest from a handful of Power 5 programs, will be one of the top running backs in the Treasure Coast next season. He’s 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, runs hard between the tackles and can catch the ball. Tomlinson had close to 200 all-purpose yards Wednesday and should get better for his senior season.
• John Carroll junior running back Savion Baker shouldn’t be overlooked either. He had over 1,000 yards on the season and picked up some tough yards against a physical Sebastian River front seven. Considering what we know right now, is there a more potent backfield returning on the Treasure Coast in 2019 than Allen and Baker? Maybe Turk Watkins and Jenard Jones at Fort Pierce Westwood. Maybe.

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• Sebastian River junior defensive lineman Tim Smith was ejected in the fourth quarter. It was unclear if Smith was ejected for receiving his second personal foul or if it was because of an incident where he kicked the helmet of a John Carroll player after a Sebastian River touchdown. (The player was not wearing the helmet at the time.) Either way, if Smith has to serve a suspension, don’t expect him to miss any time next season. He’ll likely be forced to miss wrestling or track meets as suspensions carry over to other sports.
• John Carroll senior wide receiver Bryce Bevins capped a breakout season with another strong performance Wednesday. Bevins has good size (6 feet, 185 pounds), good hands, runs good routes and makes guys miss. He will make some college very happy.
• Looks like both John Carroll and Sebastian River made good hires this past offseason. The two teams, which combined for five wins in 2017, won a total of 12 games this season. Seemingly overnight, Mickey Groody changed the culture at John Carroll and got the players and parents to buy in. Tony Perry, the longtime assistant coach at Sebastian River, has had to deal with a lot in his first year but did a solid job giving the Sharks program much-needed stability. Neither John Carroll nor Sebastian River lost to a team with a losing record this season, and both should be in the hunt for a postseason spot next fall.